WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy will journey to Kyiv and several other different European capitals in early January as the following administration tries to bring a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine war, in accordance with two sources with information of the journey’s planning.
Retired Lieutenant-Common Keith Kellogg, who is ready to function Trump’s particular envoy for Ukraine and Russia, will not be planning to go to Moscow throughout this journey, mentioned the sources, who requested anonymity to debate personal issues.
As an alternative, he’ll go to senior leaders in Kyiv, and his workforce is working to arrange conferences with leaders in different European capitals, akin to Rome and Paris, mentioned the sources. Planning for the journey continues to be being finalised and the itinerary might change, one of many sources warned.
The conferences are anticipated to concentrate on fact-finding on behalf of the incoming Trump administration, relatively than on lively negotiations, the sources mentioned. Nonetheless, the deliberate journey, which is because of start shortly after New 12 months’s Day, illustrates the urgency the president-elect has positioned on winding down the war in Ukraine.
Trump has promised to finish the battle inside 24 hours of taking workplace, if not earlier than. Former intelligence and national-security officers have expressed doubt that such a feat may be completed, partially as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin could have little motive to return to the negotiating desk, no less than on phrases acceptable to Kyiv.
A consultant for Trump didn’t touch upon the deliberate conferences, however mentioned ending the battle in Ukraine shortly remained a precedence for the president-elect.
“President Trump has repeatedly said {that a} prime precedence in his second time period will likely be to shortly negotiate a peaceable decision to the Russia-Ukraine battle,” mentioned Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt.
Representatives for the Ukrainian and Italian embassies in Washington didn’t reply to requests for remark. It was not instantly attainable to succeed in a consultant of the French embassy.